I’m sorry Toronto, but I’m saying it once.

I’ve been hearing for a couple days now, that Toronto’s suburbs are filled with morons, and that is why Rob Ford is now the Mayor-Elect.

Say what you will about the man and his policies (I disagree with everything about him and his platform) but don’t insult his supporters.  Because, frankly, they’re smarter than the opposition, and they’ve proven it.

People who wanted Rob Ford to win understood that elections are won by actually voting.  More of them voted.  Ergo, more of them were smart enough to understand that action matters more than complaints.

And frankly, Ford demonstrated a better understanding of the campaign process than any of the candidates running against him.  His approach was one sentence: Respect for Taxpayers.  This one sentence had three messages: as a taxpayer you deserve respect; in Ford’s POV you aren’t getting that respect yet, and; respecting a taxpayer means lowering taxes. (edit: and more accountability for government spending)

I don’t really know how to express Pantalone’s message in a sentence.  Or Smitherman’s.  Other than “I am not Rob Ford”, or “Rob Ford isn’t fit to lead”.

Unsurprisingly, the guy who won was the guy with a cohesive message.  And the voting bloc that everyone is calling stupid, were the majority of the people smart enough to vote.

Don’t call them stupid because they have values you don’t share.  Call us stupid because we didn’t explain the failures and flaws in Ford’s campaign, reasoning, and character.  Instead, the media, the intellectuals, the elite called him fat and stupid, and we lost.